The Balmain Shipyard holds a special place in the history of Sydney as both a depot and maintenance base for the harbour’s ferries for well over 100 years.

Now only one of two remaining dry docks in Sydney, along with Garden Island, it was built on the Mort Bay site in 1975 and is part of a precious link in maritime heritage dating back to the colonial days when shipyards dotted the harbour foreshores.

Meanwhile, Australia's first dry dock, Mort's Dock,also operated in the Balmain area but is no longer servicing.

In Mort Dock's hey day, spanning from the 1850s until the end of World War II, more than a dozen shipyards, boatyards, dry docks and marine engineering facilities were located on Mort Bay and around Balmain.

At knock-off time the thirsty painters, dockers and shipwrights would leave their slipways and workshops for the numerous nearby hotels and clubs, creating the lively pub culture and tight sense of community that still binds 'Balmainites' – in places like the 1857 Bar at the Dry Dock Hotel, the oldest licensed pub in the vicinity.

The photo of the wharf pile driving team in 1913 was donated by Robyn Burg, whose great grandfather, P.E. Olson, is pictured front row, far right

Brett, who works as a rigger at the dry dock, is one of 65 highly skilled workers who maintain the Harbour City Ferries fleet

The tradition of craftsmanship continues to this day at the Balmain Shipyard as a highly skilled workforce of 65 maintains the Harbour City Ferries fleet of four Freshwater Class and two Lady Class ferries, nine First Fleet catamarans, plus seven RiverCats, four SuperCats and two HarbourCats – as well as naval vessels and tugboats.

Mort Bay was the birthplace of heavy industry, where Mort Industries rose like a colossus in 1855 to become the nation’s biggest employer.

Between 1940 and 1945, 14 Bathurst Class corvettes and four River Class frigates were built at Mort’s Dock, which proved a crucial cog in the war effort against Japan.

The history of Balmain’s ferries indicates the shipyard, at its present site on Mort Bay, has been a base for ferry operations as far back as the 1860s or even earlier, although the exact year of commencement cannot be verified.

Now only one of two remaining dry docks in Sydney, the scene is a vast contrast to its hey day from the 1850s until the end of World War II, when more than a dozen shipyards, boatyards, dry docks and marine engineering facilities were located on Mort Bay and around Balmain

The dry dock at the Balmain shipyard, located at Mort Bay, was the first in Australia, which began in 1975

An aerial view of the Balmain Shipyard, circa 1949. Mort Bay was the birthplace of heavy industry, where Mort Industries rose like a colossus in 1855 to become the nation's biggest employer

The history of Balmain's ferries indicates the shipyard, at its present site on Mort Bay, has been a base for ferry operations as far back as the 1860s or even earlier, although the exact year of commencement cannot be verified